EPQ Ideas for Economics and Business: 30+ Questions

By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 24 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026

EPQ ideas for economics are plentiful, but choosing one that actually works for 120 guided learning hours is harder than it looks. Economics is a common EPQ subject because public datasets from national statistics offices, central banks, the OECD, and the World Bank make it unusually data-rich - you can build a rigorous investigation without ever leaving your desk. The trap is picking a question so broad ('Is capitalism fair?') that you can only skim the surface, or so narrow that you run out of material after two sources. A well-framed economics question is specific enough to answer, controversial enough to argue, and connected to a degree or career path without simply rehearsing your A-level syllabus. This guide offers thirty-plus questions grouped by theme, three worked examples of titles refined from vague to focused, and practical advice on sources, ethics, and using the project in your UCAS personal statement.

Key Takeaways

• Pick a focused, arguable question: The OCR moderators' 2024 report found that candidates who did well 'refined a research question which was targeted and focused'; those who did less well 'selected a generic topic'.
• Your centre must approve the title: Both AQA and OCR require formal centre approval before you begin - AQA students 'draft a title and aims for formal approval by the centre'; OCR provides a Verification of Topic and Title form, or centres can use their own version.
• Public datasets make economics data-rich: Sources such as the OECD, World Bank, and national statistics offices give you ready-made, citable data - but you must show the limits of that data in your project.
• Formatted citations are non-negotiable: The OCR moderators flagged many candidates who submitted URL lists instead of in-text citations and bibliographies; source evaluations addressing credibility and usefulness are required under OCR H857.
• Primary research is optional, not compulsory: Interviews or email exchanges with economists or policy analysts can add value, but the OCR moderators note that effective surveys 'were outweighed by the ineffective surveys'.
• Universities recognise the EPQ in applications: The University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester both have supportive statements printed in the OCR specification, and the WJEC student guide notes that an A/A* can lead to a lower A-level grade requirement in offers.

In This Article

1. What makes a good economics EPQ question
2. 30+ EPQ ideas for economics and business, grouped by theme
3. Three worked examples: from weak topic to focused EPQ question
4. Feasibility, sources, and ethics for an economics EPQ
5. Using your economics EPQ in a UCAS application
6. What to do next

1. What makes a good economics EPQ question

Finding good EPQ ideas for economics starts with one test: can you frame the topic as a specific, arguable question that goes beyond your A-level syllabus without simply rehearsing a university lecture? Economics is a popular EPQ subject precisely because published data is plentiful, real policy debates are ongoing, and the subject connects naturally to degree applications. But that abundance is also the trap. The most common failure is a question so broad that 120 guided learning hours barely scratch the surface.

The title test

A strong EPQ question in economics passes four checks:

• Focused - it identifies a specific market, policy, country, or time period, not just a theme.
• Arguable - it invites a line of reasoning, not a summary. Question stems like "To what extent...", "How far does...", and "Should..." signal argument. "What is..." signals description, and description on its own gives you little to analyse or evaluate.
• Answerable within scope - neither so narrow that you exhaust all sources in a week, nor so wide that the OCR moderators flag it as "too limited or too large in scope" for 120 GLH.
• Beyond the taught syllabus - it builds on what A-level economics covers but does not simply restate it. A question on the UK's 2022 energy price cap, for example, applies price theory to a specific political decision rather than rehearsing a textbook chapter.

What the moderators actually saw

The OCR H857 moderators' report for summer 2024 is unusually candid. Candidates who did well "selected a topic which genuinely interested them" and "refined a research question which was targeted and focused." They also "narrowed and deepened research as they progressed" rather than collecting sources indiscriminately.

Those who did less well "selected a generic topic," "researched broadly and shallowly," and "produced evaluations which were descriptive or lacked awareness of strengths and weaknesses." One telling detail: some candidates "produced large quantities of activities relating to topic choice and still ended up with a broad, descriptive topic or with a topic with little potential for development." Spending weeks on planning does not automatically produce a good question.

The report also specifies that "at least some aims should relate to the steps needed to achieve planned outcomes" - a reminder that aims are not just a wishlist of things to learn but a sequence of actions that move the project forward.

Centre approval: what AQA and OCR require

Both boards require the title to be formally approved before substantive work begins, but the mechanics differ.

• AQA (7993): students draft a title and aims for formal approval by the centre before proceeding.
• OCR (H857): learners can complete OCR's Verification of Topic and Title (VTT) form, or the centre's own version of it, for the centre's own approval process; the form must not be submitted to OCR itself.

The practical implication is the same: arrive at your supervisor meeting with a focused draft question, not a vague area of interest. Approval gates are easier to pass when the question already looks specific and arguable.

2. 30+ EPQ ideas for economics and business, grouped by theme

Economics is one of the more data-rich subjects you can choose for an EPQ. Public datasets from national statistics offices, central banks, the OECD, and the World Bank are freely available, regularly updated, and cover most of the themes below. That means an investigation route, where you gather and analyse published data rather than conducting fieldwork, is a genuinely viable option for this subject. The catch is that data alone is not enough: the Use Resources objective on every board asks you to 'critically select' sources and to 'analyse data, apply relevantly and demonstrate understanding of any links, connections and complexities of the topic', so you must show the limits of the data you use, not just report what it says.

All ideas below are written for this guide. They are phrased as questions or briefs rather than topics, because a topic ("inflation") gives you nothing to argue or evaluate, but a focused question does. Your centre must approve whichever title you develop before you begin.

Macroeconomic policy and inflation

1. To what extent did UK quantitative easing between 2009 and 2022 contribute to house price inflation, and who bore the cost?
2. Does a higher minimum wage reduce employment among young workers? An analysis of UK evidence since the National Living Wage was introduced.
3. How effective was fiscal policy as a stabilisation tool during the COVID-19 recession compared with the 2008 financial crisis?
4. Should the Bank of England's inflation target be raised from 2% to 4%? A critical evaluation of the case for and against.

Research this needs: Bank of England statistical releases, ONS inflation and labour market datasets, HM Treasury documents. An email exchange with a monetary policy researcher or economist could sharpen a specific argument, but no survey is needed here.

Labour markets and inequality

1. To what extent has the rise of zero-hours contracts increased income insecurity in the UK hospitality sector?
2. Has the gender pay gap in UK financial services narrowed since mandatory reporting was introduced in 2017?
3. Is geographical inequality in the UK labour market better explained by structural factors or by individual human capital differences?
4. How does automation risk, as measured by task-routine intensity, correlate with wage growth across UK occupational groups?

Research this needs: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, UK government gender pay gap service data, Resolution Foundation and IFS reports for analysis frameworks. An interview with a labour economist or HR professional could add a practitioner perspective.

Development and trade

1. Did China's steel output cap, introduced on environmental grounds, reduce Brazilian iron ore export revenues, and by how much?
2. To what extent did the US-China trade war reduce US agricultural exports, using soybeans as a case study?
3. How effective has microcredit been as a tool for women's economic empowerment in Bangladesh, using Grameen Bank as the focus?
4. What were the macroeconomic effects of Malaysia's National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme on GDP and unemployment in 2021 and 2022?
5. Has the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement created or diverted trade in agricultural goods?

Research this needs: World Bank development indicators, WTO tariff and trade flow databases, IMF country reports. For the Grameen Bank question, published academic evaluations of microcredit programmes are widely available. Primary research is unlikely to be feasible here given geographic distance, though an email exchange with a development economist is worth attempting.

Behavioural economics

1. Does default enrolment in workplace pension schemes increase long-run savings rates, or does it crowd out private saving?
2. To what extent can loss aversion explain consumer behaviour in the UK energy switching market?
3. How effective are calorie labelling requirements on UK restaurant menus as a nudge to reduce calorific intake?
4. Is present bias a sufficient explanation for under-saving among UK adults aged 18 to 30, or do structural barriers matter more?

Research this needs: Department for Work and Pensions auto-enrolment statistics, Food Standards Agency evaluations, academic literature on nudge theory. An interview with a behavioural economist or a policy analyst at a think tank such as the Behavioural Insights Team could work well here.

Environmental and energy economics

1. Is a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade scheme a more cost-efficient mechanism for reducing UK industrial emissions?
2. To what extent have rising energy prices since 2021 accelerated household uptake of heat pumps and solar panels in the UK?
3. How effective is the UK Emissions Trading Scheme as a market-based tool for decarbonising the power sector?
4. Does economic growth in middle-income countries inevitably increase carbon emissions, or does the Environmental Kuznets Curve hold empirically?

Research this needs: DESNZ energy statistics, UK ETS Authority data, OECD environmental datasets, IPCC synthesis reports for context. A visit to a local energy project or an interview with a sustainability economist could add primary material that is difficult to replicate from desk research alone.

Business strategy and competition

1. Has Amazon's entry into a new product category consistently reduced prices for consumers, using UK grocery delivery as a case study?
2. To what extent does market concentration in UK retail banking harm small business borrowers?
3. To what extent does pricing in the UK supermarket sector show oligopolistic behaviour, using published price-tracking data on a basket of staple goods?
4. How do switching costs in the UK mobile telecommunications market affect competitive outcomes for consumers?
5. Should the UK Competition and Markets Authority treat digital platform markets differently from traditional goods markets?

Research this needs: CMA market study reports, Which? consumer data, Companies House filings for firm-level analysis, academic industrial organisation literature. A visit to a local market or interview with a small business owner could provide useful primary context for strategy questions.

Finance, markets and crises

1. Did the 2008 financial crisis permanently reduce the UK's productive potential, or did output eventually return to its pre-crisis trend?
2. To what extent do UK retail investors exhibit herding behaviour during periods of market volatility?
3. To what extent has the UK's bank ring-fencing regime, in force since 2019, reduced the exposure of retail banking to investment banking losses?
4. How did cryptocurrency markets respond to the collapse of FTX in 2022, and what does this suggest about crypto market efficiency?

Research this needs: Bank of England Financial Stability Reports, ONS productivity data, FCA consumer investment surveys, academic finance literature. Financial market data is freely available from multiple sources, making this theme well suited to a data-rich investigation route.

Technology, AI and work

1. To what extent has the adoption of AI-assisted hiring tools increased or reduced occupational segregation by gender in UK graduate recruitment?
2. Does the introduction of digital payment infrastructure in rural India reduce financial exclusion, and what barriers remain?
3. How might widespread adoption of large language models affect demand for graduate-level analytical roles in UK professional services over the next decade?
4. Is a Universal Basic Income a credible policy response to structural unemployment caused by automation, based on evidence from existing pilot programmes?

Research this needs: OECD Employment Outlook reports, ONS workforce datasets, academic literature on automation and labour markets, published evaluations of UBI pilots in Finland and Kenya. An email exchange with a technology economist or futurist researcher would add depth that secondary sources alone cannot easily provide.

A practical note on primary research across all themes. The OCR moderators' report records that primary research 'is encouraged, but it is not compulsory, and should always contribute to project outcomes', and that effective surveys 'were outweighed by the ineffective surveys'. Where primary research is worth doing for an economics question, an interview or email exchange with an economist, policy analyst or business owner is far more likely to add something than a survey of classmates.

3. Three worked examples: from weak topic to focused EPQ question

The three examples below were written for this guide. They are not real student work and they are not exam-board exemplars. Each one takes a broad starting topic and tightens it through four moves: pinning down what is being argued, who or which group is affected, where (the geographic or institutional scope), and compared with what (the benchmark or counterfactual). The OCR moderators' report notes that candidates who struggled often "selected a generic topic" and "researched broadly and shallowly" - these examples show how to avoid both traps before you start writing.

Example 1 - Macroeconomics

Example 2 - Business strategy

The non-obvious gotcha here: "pricing power" is an economic concept you can support with published revenue and subscriber data, whereas "success" or "performance" would require you to define your terms across three pages before you could argue anything.

Example 3 - Development economics

The same four-move method works across most economics EPQ ideas: lock in a specific policy, a specific population, a specific country, and a specific comparison point. Once all four are in place, you have a question you can actually answer with the sources available to a sixth-form student.

4. Feasibility, sources, and ethics for an economics EPQ

Economics is one of the more data-rich choices for an EPQ because governments, central banks, and international bodies publish enormous quantities of freely accessible data. The OECD, World Bank, national statistics offices, and central bank databases give you time-series data on GDP, inflation, unemployment, trade flows, and much more, often going back decades. The practical implication: you can write a strong investigation-route EPQ without collecting a single data point yourself. The discipline, though, is showing the limits of the data you use. A dataset compiled for one purpose (say, national accounts) may not capture what your question actually needs (say, regional inequality within a country). Acknowledging that gap is part of the critical use of resources that AO2 asks for.

Choosing your route

The dissertation (approximately 5,000 words) is the obvious fit for economics, but it is not the only option. Both the OCR specification and the AQA specification permit an artefact as a final outcome, with a minimum 1,000-word written report accompanying it. A detailed business plan, a financial model, or a policy briefing document can work as an artefact where the question suits it. A performance or event route is less common for economics but not excluded. Choose the route that matches your question, not the one that sounds easiest.

What you cannot do

Some questions are off-limits regardless of how interesting they are:

• Research that requires access to patients, clients, or children as participants.
• Questions that would require you to give financial or legal advice, even implicitly, since those cross into professional territory no school supervisor can sanction.
• Primary surveys where the design cannot generate data that genuinely changes your answer. The OCR moderators' report for Summer 2024 notes that surveys were more often ineffective than effective, and that interviews, email exchanges with experts, or visits to relevant locations tended to produce better primary evidence when primary research was needed at all.

Sources and citations

A list of URLs is not a bibliography. The OCR moderators' report records that many candidates submitted only hyperlinks, which cannot be followed once a document is printed, and some submitted no in-text citations at all. Good practice, which the same report identifies, is to separate your reference list (sources you cite directly) from your bibliography (sources you read but did not quote). Source evaluations must address two things: how useful the source was to your specific project, and how credible and reliable it is. Running through a checklist is not enough; the evaluation needs to connect the source to your argument.

When to talk to your supervisor

Talk to your supervisor whenever your plan changes significantly, and always before you carry out any primary research. Under the AQA specification, all substantive advice given to you must be recorded by you in the Production Log and Assessment Record and confirmed by your supervisor. OCR learners track the same decisions in the Project Progression Record (PPR), which must be submitted for moderation. The record is your evidence that the project is independently managed, so a conversation that goes unlogged is a missed opportunity, not a shortcut.

5. Using your economics EPQ in a UCAS application

The EPQ earns its place on a UCAS application most when you can talk about how you worked, not just what you concluded. For economics and business applicants, that means foregrounding the independent research, data analysis, and argument construction the project required.

The OCR H857 specification prints statements from two universities directly. The University of Manchester notes that students 'can refer to the Extended Project in their UCAS personal statement and at interview to demonstrate some of the qualities that universities are looking for'. The University of Cambridge states: 'We welcome the Extended Project and would encourage applicants to undertake one as it will help to develop independent study and research skills valuable for higher education'. Both are quoted as statements printed in the OCR specification, and should not be read as the position of any other institution.

On offer conditions, the WJEC EPQ student guide 2021 notes that 'Increasingly, universities are including the EPQ in their UCAS offers. Very often an A/A* grade in the EPQ will lead to a lower A Level grade requirement'. That is WJEC's observation, not a universal rule. Check individual course pages, because some courses attach EPQ conditions and others do not.

The practical value for interview is specific: an economics or business EPQ gives you a piece of independent work you directed yourself, a dataset you interrogated, and a conclusion you had to defend. Those are the qualities the university statements printed in the OCR specification describe. Knowing the limits of your argument is as useful as knowing the argument.

6. What to do next

Pick three questions from this guide that genuinely interest you. Apply the four-move refinement to each: what exactly is being measured, who is affected, where (which country, sector, or time period), and compared with what. Write each refined question in one sentence. That sentence is your candidate title.

Then book a meeting with your supervisor this week. The non-obvious reason to do this early: your centre must approve the title before work begins, so the question you choose is not official until a supervisor signs off on it. Arriving with three options, rather than one, gives you room to negotiate if one is out of scope or too similar to another student's project.

Contact your supervisor before you start any reading. The conversation is the real first step, not the question.

FAQ

Can I do an EPQ on economics if I am not taking economics A-level?

Yes - the EPQ is designed to go beyond your current qualifications, so you do not need to be studying economics at A-level; the project should extend your knowledge rather than repeat your taught syllabus, and your centre must approve the title before you begin.

Does the EPQ help with university applications for economics degrees?

The University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester both have supportive statements printed in the OCR H857 specification - Cambridge says it welcomes the EPQ and Manchester says students can refer to it in a personal statement and at interview; the WJEC student guide notes that an A/A* can lead to a lower A-level grade requirement in offers, though students should check individual course pages for details.

How long does an economics EPQ dissertation have to be?

Under both AQA (7993) and OCR (H857), a research-based written report should be approximately 5,000 words; if the project product is an artefact, a minimum of 1,000 words of written work is required alongside it.

Is primary research - such as a survey - necessary for an economics EPQ?

Primary research is not compulsory; the OCR moderators' 2024 report found surveys were more often ineffective than effective, and recommended interviews or email exchanges with experts as more productive alternatives when primary research is used.

What counts as a good source for an economics EPQ?

Public datasets from the OECD, World Bank, national statistics offices, and central banks are strong starting points; OCR requires source evaluations that address both the usefulness and the credibility/reliability of each source, not simply a list of URLs.

References

• Cambridge OCR Extended Project H857 Moderators' report - Summer 2024 - https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/727849-moderators-report.pdf
• AQA Level 3 Extended Project Qualification (7993) Specification v1.4 - 2.5.1 Assessment evidence and project product - https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-W-7993-SP-19.PDF
• Cambridge OCR Level 3 Extended Project Qualification H857 Specification v2.2 (October 2026) - Assessment, PPR, marking criteria bands, overlap with other qualifications - https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/414382-specification.pdf